World briefs

KENYA Few expected the landmark decision by Kenya’s top court to invalidate the August 8 election victory by President Uhuru Kenyatta (pictured) and order a new vote, an extraordinary turnaround that some observers believe could positively reverberate across Africa and even beyond.  

CAMBODIA Authorities arrested the leader of the main opposition party yesterday, accusing him of conspiring with the United States to topple the government. The move sharply escalates political tensions and raises questions over whether elections due next year can be free or fair. 

NORTH KOREA yesterday claimed a “perfect success” for its most powerful nuclear test so far, a further step in the development of weapons capable of striking anywhere in the United States. 

SRI LANDA’s president yesterday vowed to protect his former ambassador to six South American nations, an ex-army chief accused of crimes in the bloody final phase of the country’s civil war.

RUSSIA-MOLDOVA Moscow’s foreign minister has criticized a move by Moldova to call for the removal of Russian troops from a pro-Russia separatist region at an upcoming U.N. meeting.

ZIMBABWE’s first lady made her first public statement since being accused of assaulting a young model in neighboring South Africa. Grace Mugabe appeared with her 93-year-old husband at a political rally ahead of next year’s elections.

GERMANY Residents in two German cities evactuated their homes yesterday as authorities prepared to dispose of World War II-era bombs found during construction work last week. Officials in the financial capital Frankfurt carried out an evacuation of 60,000 people, described as Germany’s biggest operation of its kind. 

CUBA Mysterious incidents affecting the health of American diplomats in Cuba continued as recently as August, the United States said Friday, despite earlier U.S. assessments that the attacks had long stopped. The U.S. increased its tally of government personnel affected to 19.

MEXICO President Enrique Pena Nieto said that security is his government’s top priority, amid growing violence and that is marring his fifth year in office and despite figures showing significant drops in crime-fighting results.

Categories World